Flagship schemes yet to touch remote areas of Cachar
A CORRESPONDENT
Silchar, May 4: The success of various government schemes like MGNREGA, Indira Awas Yoja (IAY) etc is still a distant dream for remote areas of Cachar as majority of the eligible beneficiaries are kept outside the purview of the schemes.
The condition of the rural areas of Cachar district is very terrible. There has been a continuous allegation that corruption in every walk of life has been a regular feature of the district. The situation turns out to be more pathetic as no grievance redressal system could succeed in making their lives easy. As a result the rural population, who are economically backward, is left to strive for themselves without any basic amenities, job security, proper health care, roads, basic education, food security etc
Though there are many government schemes running in the district but the actual working of certain flagship government schemes has been limited only in pen and paper, as the benefits available under these schemes are often locked into the pockets of people with vested interest.
Rural development schemes like MGNREGA, Indira Awas Yoja (IAY) which were implemented in the district by District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) in the year 2005-2006 has remained as a dream for certain villages of the district as they have always been kept out of the ambit of these schemes in spite of their eligibility.
During an audit conducted by Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) it has been found that the agency has not even fixed the annual targets for employment generation in the districts under the scheme of MGNREGA. Moreover, the action plan indicating the location wise distribution of work to the people also could not be shown to the CAG. All these clearly depict poor implementation of schemes in the district.
The scerio of the district with regard to housing status is also not much satisfactory. According to a Baseline Survey of Minority Concentrated Districts conducted by Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, only 5.77 percent of the sample houses which were taken as a part of the study have been provided houses under IAY. Majority of the rural folks are still living in kutcha houses with thatched roofs which are in a very dilapidated condition. As per the study report the proportion of total sample households with pucca houses is only 8.11 percent.
Thus, the situation clearly depicts that although the district seems far away from insurgency and terrorism that other parts of North East witness, yet the rural folks are not so fortute as they are continuously deprived of the benefits and rights which are allotted under various developmental schemes which are specially meant for their uplift. Thus it is high time for the authorities to open up their eyes, stop treating the rural folks as source of votes and look into the matters seriously.
